Strap-forming machine.



A. F. KESSLER. STRAP FORMING MACHINE. APPLIOATIONIILIVID MAY 13, 1910.

1,014,065. 7 Patented Jan.9,1912.

I I 3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

27 62 F 1 F4 W 4 ITII'IIIII WlTNESsES INVENTOR ATTORNEY COLUMBIAFLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, n. c

A. F. KESSLER. STRAP FORMING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 13, 1910.

1,014,065; Patented Jan.9,1912.

3 SHEETB-SHEET 3.

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- WITNESSES 22 2 i ATTORNEY FTQ.

ALBERT F. IKESSLER', OF UTIGA, NEW YORK.

STE-AP'EOBIMING MACHINE.

Patented Jan. 9,191.2.

1910. Serial No. 56 ,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. KnssLnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Strap-Forming Machines,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a machine for producing thepointed fold in the back-straps used on mens drawers. So far as I amaware, these straps have heretofore been made only by hand, and by amethod differing from that of my present invention.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of astrap-forming machine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2represents a side elevation thereof, partly broken away. Fig. 3represents a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4represents a longitudinal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is aplan view of the mechanism used for closing the slot in the table whenthe material is fed over it. Fig. 6 represents a rear elevation of saidmechanism. Fig. 7 is a sectional perspective view representing the partsconcerned in the folding operation, with the doubling blades in theirraised or retracted position. Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the partsin their operative position. Fig. 9 represents a perspective view of thefolded strap produced by the machine. Fig. 10 represents an elevation ofthe lower portion of said strap. Fig. 11 is an end view of said lowerportion. Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section of said lower portion. Fig.13 is a longitudinal section showing a carrier with which the machinemay be equipped for conveying the folded straps. Fig. 14 is a reverseplan view of said carrier. Fig. 15 is a section on the line 1515 of Fig.14.

The form of a strap made by this machine is represented in Figs. 9 to 12and it consists of a strip of cloth doubled to form two plies 20, 2Oanda pointed end made by tucking or folding inwardly the two corners Refthe doubled strap as shown at 21. This is done by acting with formers onthe material at the end of the folded blank while the latter is beingadvanced by the doubling devices. The two side edges of each ply may beturned inwardly to form hem folds 22, prior to doubling and pointing theend of the strap. The old hand method consisted in pinching the sides ofthe extended blank together at the middle, stitching it across as thuslongitudinally doubled, and then flattening the plies together to make apointed end similar in appearance to that shown in the drawings, butdifferent therefrom in having the internal stitching, which by my methodis rendered superfluous.

With this machine, in its preferred form as illustrated, a continuousstrip of mate rial is fed horizontally and its edges turned over byfolding-guides to form the hem folds as it progresses toward thefoldingtable, and when a length of material sufficient to form one strapis positioned over the folding-table it is automatically cut off. Thefolding slot is closed by a pair of fillers or blank-supports to preventthe advancing edge of the strip from catching in the slot, and the stripis held fiat and smoothed out, during its advance by means of a beltrunning faster than the strip. When a length of strip has beenpositioned on the folding-table and cut off, the slot-fillers orsupports under the middle part of the blank are withdrawn and a pair ofbreaker blades descend upon said middle part, slightly depressing thesame into the folding slot and holding the blank accurately in positionfor the action of the doubling and folding devices. These lattercomprise a pair of stationary former blades arranged underneath thefolding-table, and a pair of verticallyreciproeating doubling andfolding blades adapted during their descent to double the blank and foldthe middle parts inwardly by forcing them between the stationary formerblades to make the pointed end of the strap, the latter being then drawndown between knurled rollers which introduce it to another pair ofrollers for setting the folds, from whence the folded strap may bepassed to a conveyer which may deliver it to a sewing-machine forstitching the sides.

The strip of material to form the blanks from which the straps are madeis fed into the machine from the right as viewed in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 7 and8, and passes first into the folding-guide 23 and then between thegeared feed-rollers 24, 25, the former of which is mounted upon the maindrive-shaft 26 having at its end the drive-pulley 27. 28 is a stationaryshear-blade located just beyond these feed rollers, and 29 is arevolving shear-blade mounted on a longitudinal shaft 30 connected bybevel-gears 31, 32 with the main shaft 26, the revolving bladecoiiperating with the fixed blade to cutoff the strip in lengths to formthe strap blanks.

33 is the folding table interrupted by the folding-slot 34 and abovethis table 1s a belt 35 for the purpose of holding the strip flat asitapproaches and crosses the slot, and smoothing out any wrinklestherein, this belt traveling somewhat faster than the peripheral speedof the rollers 24, 25. The belt 35 is mounted on a pair of drums 36, 37of which the upper one 37 has a pulley 38 driven by a belt 39 from apulley 40 on a shaft41, the latter being rotated by sprockets and achain 42 from the main shaft 26.

43 is a fixed guard or stripper adjacent to the delivery end of thelower stretch of belt 35 to prevent the material from clinging to saidbelt.

44, 44 are the stationary forming-blades suitably mounted in the foldingslot 34, these blades being in the same plane with each other and havingtheir adjacent edges separated by a slight distance for the passage ofthe vertical edges of the folds 21 in the strap, the upper edges of saidblades being beveled at 45 so as to start the folds 21.

46 are the movable doubling and folding blades having pointed lower ends47 whose working edges stand at right-angles to each other, or at 45 tothe line of movement, these blades being rigidly attached to a slide 48mounted in stationary guides 49 and actuated through a lever 50 by a cam51 on the longitudinal shaft 30, said lever being pivoted at 52, and thecam serving to raise the slide 48 against the tension of a spring 53.

54 is a rectangular frame carrying a pair of .breaker blades 55 andguided ontwo posts 56 which are surrounded by springs 57 tending todepress said blades, the latter with their frame being raised by theslide 48 through the medium of a pair of hooked plates 58 attached toframe 54 and taking over shoulders 59 formed by the upper ends of thefolding blades 46 and their attaching plates. When the slide is in itshighest position these breaker blades are raised above the level of thetable to allow the strip to pass underneath, and when the slide startsto descend these blades drop and carry with them the middle part of thestrap blank, their pressure on the material underneath them beingsuflicient to bend it and hold the blank from sluing when the doublingblades act upon it, but insufiicient to impose any objectionable dragupon the passage of the blank from under the breaker blades.

61 and 62 are a pair of filler sliding plates or supports running ingrooves 60 formed in the walls of the slot 34, and movable oppositelytoward and from each other to alternately cover and uncover said slot.The plate 61 is carried by a transverse slide 63 operating under thetable 33, which is moved in one direction by a cam 64 mounted on thelongitudinal shaft 30, and returned by a spring 65. A lever 66 pivotedin its middle at 67 is connected with the other plate 62 and with theslide 63 by pin-and-slot de vices, and thus receives a motion equal toand opposite from that of the plate 61. These plates are timedto closetogether and form a bridge over the slot 34 for the advancing edge ofthe strip of material after the blades 46 have risen out of said slot,and to open again before said blades descend to double and fold theblank.

68, 69 are a pair of feed rolls to receive, press, and downwardlyadvance the folded and doubled blank, one of these rolls being mounteddirectly on the shaft 41 and the shaft of the other being connected withshaft 41 by gears 70,71. The peripheral speed of these rolls preferablyslightly exceeds that of the rolls 24, 25. Above the rolls 68, 69 is apair of nipping rolls 72, 73 of smaller diameter knurled on their actingportions and circumferentially grooved at 74- to receive the end of thestrap as it is forced downwardly between them by the blades 46, and toadvance said strap into the bite of the rolls 68, 69. The grooving.

of these upper rolls at the place where the points of the blades 46enter avoids any tendency to cut the point of the strap, especially ifthe edges of the groove are rounded and if made of a semi-yieldingmaterial. The bearings of these rolls 72, 73 are also preferably mountedin any suitable way so as to yield slightly, and the bearings of one ormore of the rolls of the other pairs described may be similarly mounted,this being a well-known expedient illustrated in my drawings butrequiring no special description. The pressure between the smaller orfirst pair of fold-setting rolls 72, 73 is preferably less than thatbetween the second pair 68, 69, in order to readily admit the points ofthe blades 46 between these first or nipping rolls and insure a properhold upon the advancing end of the strap. The greater pressure betweenthe rolls 68, 69 insures a permanent crease or setting of the folds. Therolls 72, 73 are driven by gearing 75, 76, 77 from the gear on shaft 41and their peripheral speed is the same as that of the rolls 68, 69.

An opening 78 is formed in the bed 79 for the passage of the foldedstraps, and if desired there may be mounted below this opening, asrepresented in Figs. 13, 14, 15, a chute 80 for delivering the straps toa pair of carrier belts 81, 82 combined with a pair of stationaryconverging side guides 83 for conveying the straps in a properly alinedcondition to a sewing-machine (not shown) which stitches the side edgesof the plies 20 together.

The operation will be readily understood. As the continuous strip ofmaterial is fed in through the folding-guide 23 and between the rolls24, 25, its edges are turned over to form the hem folds 22, and when theproper length of strip to form a strap blank has been fed over the table33, the revolving shear-blade or knife 29 in cooperation with thestationary blade 28, severs the strip transversely. The forward end ofthe strip advances across the folding-slot 34 while the doubling andfolding blades 46 and breakerblades 55 are raised and while the fillerplates or supports 61, 62 are across the slot, and during this advancethe belt 35 holds down and smooths out the strip. The fillerplates maybe withdrawn as soon as the blank has crossed the slot, and when fullyacross, the slide 48 descends, allowing the breaker blades to start thefold, and while the frame 54 is arrested upon a pair of fixedstrip-guides 90 the blades 46 continue to descend to the positionrepresented in Fig. 8, and force the blank by its middle down throughthe slot 34 and against the stationary forming plates 44, the blades 46descending on opposite sides of said plates 44. This causes the folds 21to be formed and their vertical edges pass between the plates 44 whiletheir diagonal edges are shaped against the blades 46, whose workingedges, being at angles of 45 to the line of movement, permit the innerbends of the folds 21 to take a vertical position. It is of course notessential to shape the strap-end with diagonal edges meeting at a sharppoint and the blades might be shaped otherwise, although this form ofstrap is preferred in the trade. The folding blades descend far enoughto introduce the lower end of the strap between the rolls 72, 73 asabove described and are then withdrawn upwardly while the strapcontinues to feed downwardly between said rolls and the lower feed rolls68, 69, from whence it passes through the openings 78 and may bedelivered to the belts 81, 82 or otherwise disposed of.

It will be noted that the parallel doubling and folding blades 46,moving in a straight line through the narrow slot 34 and past the fixedthin forming-plates 44, substantially complete the shaping of the foldbefore the setting of the latter begins in the nip of the rolls 72, 73.There is therefore little or no opportunity for an imperfect fold or onewhose proper completion depends upon the qualities of the material, andI am thus enabled to successfully form a tapered strap-end in ordinarycotton or linen cloth, which has very little stiffness. The rigid andparallel connection of the twin blades 46 further insures their properrelative timing, unaffected by wear in the working parts.

.Without departing from my invention, various changes may be made in themachine for automatically performing the above-described operations orany of them, related to the doubling, folding and pointing or analogousshaping of a strip of material.

I claim,-

1. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of means for supportingthe blank preparatory to doubling it, a stationary former for folding ortucking the doubled end of the blank, a pair of feed-rolls mounted forrelatively-yielding movement, a pair of doubling and folding bladesmounted to reciprocate past said former and adapted to introduce thedoubled and tucked end of the strap to the nip of said feedrolls, and asecond pair of feed-rolls located posterior to the first-said pair andadapted to set the fold in said strap.

2. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a table formed with aslot, a pair of forming plates mounted edge-to-edge in said slot, a pairof feed-rolls of relatively-small diameter located below said slot andmounted for relative yielding movement, a second pair of feed-rolls ofrelatively-large diameter adapted to receive the strap from thefirstsaid rolls, a pair of parallel blades adapted to double the blankand advance it past said forming-plates into the nip of the first pairof feed-rolls, and means for reciprocating said blades in a straightline through said slot.

3. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a pair of doubling andfolding blades each having inclined end edges substantially meeting at apoint, means cooperating with said blades for tucking the corners of adoubled blank advanced by the blades, a pair of feed-rolls whoseintermediate zones are adapted to admit the points of said blades withintheir peripheries, means for reciprocating said blades into and out ofthe space between said rolls, and means for positively rotating saidrolls.

4. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a pair of pointeddoubling and folding blades, means to reciprocate them, a pair offormers working between said blades, and a pair ofcircumferentially-grooved feed-rolls adapted to receive the doubledstrap from the doubling and folding blades and further advance it.

,5. In a folding-machine, the combination of a blank-supporting tablehaving a folding-slot, means for advancing the blanks across the slot,means for doubling the blanks through said slot, and a supportintermittently movable over said slot.

'25 material across said slot, means for alter- 6. In a strap-foldingmachine, the combination of a blank-supporting table having afolding-slot, means for advancing the blanks across said slot, means fordoubling the blanks through said slot, and a pair of sliding supportsmovable toward and from each other to alternately cover and uncover saidslot.

7 In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a blank-supportingtable having a folding slot, means working through said slot fordoubling the blank, and means adapted to operate on opposite sides ofsaid folding means and prior to the latter, for initially depressing themiddle portion of the blank. 4

8. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a blank-supportingtable having a folding-slot, a pair of breaker-blades movable into andout of said slot, and a doubling device mounted to reciprocate betweenthe blades.

9. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a blank-supportingtable having a folding-slot, means for advancing a strip of natelycovering and uncovering the slot, a pair of breaker-blades movable intoand out of the slot, a pair of stationary formerblades mounted in theslot, and a pair of pointed doubling and folding blades mounted toreciprocate through the slot between the breaker-blades and on oppositesides of the former blades.

10. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a blank-supportingtable having a slot, a vertically-reciprocating slide carrying adoubling device which works through said slot, a frame raised andlowered by said slide during the upper portion of the latters movementand carrying a pair of breaker blades adapted to initially depress themiddle of the blank, and means for yieldingly depressing said frame.

11. In a folding-machine, the combination of a blank-supporting tablehaving a folding-slot, means for advancing a strip of material acrossthe slot to form the blanks, means for doubling the blanks through saidslot, means for severing the strip, and a smoother and flattener actingon the strip approaching the slot and having a peripheral speed greaterthan that of the strip.

12. In a strap-folding machine, the combination of a blank-supportingtable having a slot, means for advancing the blanks across said slot,means for doubling the blanks through the slot, and means comprising abelt traveling faster than the blank-advancing means, and supporting andpropelling devices for said belt, for smoothing and fiattening the blankas it advances over the table toward said slot.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses, this 7th day of May, 1910.

ALBERT F. KESSLER.

Witnesses J. LEO TELLER, F. N. VANCE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

